Cape Epic Stage 6: Blevins And Beers Inch Closer To Overall Lead

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Watch all eight stages of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic broadcast from outside.

Christopher Blevins and Matt Beers (Toyota-Specialized - Nineteen) celebrated their fifth stage win at the Absa Cape Epic on Saturday, finishing second overall with one race day to go.

Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht (Scotty-Esram MTB Racing) finished second on the podium and reclaimed the overall lead, just 90 seconds behind Baer and Blevins. After a day in the yellow jersey, Lucas Baugh and Georg Iger (ORBEA x Leat x Speed​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ A.

Kim Le Court and Vera Lucer (Daksha Infinity Insurance) took a hat-trick and the leader's orange jersey as they won Stage 6. Former leaders Amy Wakefield and Candice Leal (e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo) finished fourth in Stage 6 , losing more than 30 minutes to the new division leader.

Sofia Gomez Villafane and Katerina Nash (Ninety-One-Gun-Specialized) tied for second and third overall, 27 minutes behind Le Court and Lucer.

The men's and women's races were heavily impacted by mechanical issues for the team in what many drivers described as their toughest day of racing yet. It rained throughout the 73km stage, turning the climb into sticky mudslides and the only descent into dangerous mud baths.

With 33 kilometers remaining in the race, Wakefield pitted and broke his rear wheel rim, forcing him to ride the 8 kilometers to the next tech station without a rear tire. Up until then, Wakefield, Lyle, Lusher and Lee walked the field quietly together.

"I'm in the same gap as Amy," Le Court said. "I was lucky, it was probably my hardest day on the bike. I tried to stay safe the whole way, but still crashed twice. I thought I might shed a tear, but I didn't stop. I didn't I know ."

After the mechanics, Wakefield and Leh dropped even further, finishing 39 minutes behind stage winners Lusser and Leh. The new owners of the orange jersey will start last season 25 minutes ahead of Wakefield and Lille.

Taking the big lead on stage 7 for 80km, Luzer and Le Court took nothing. "It's still 80 kilometers long," Lucer said. "I won't be too happy until we cross the finish line," added Le Court.

In the men's race, ORBEA x Leat x Speed​​​​​​​​​​

Baum and Iger were ahead of Blevins and Beer before they crashed. The four drivers took over when Nino Schurter had to retire to help Andriy Frischknecht.

However, Frischknecht and Schurter managed to escape and escape a second time.

Blevin and Beer dominated the day. Blevins says he starts his day by getting up early to watch the LA Lakers game. The Lakers won, and Blevins said it should have boded well from the start. Even before Baum and Iger were forced to stop for repairs, it was a day where he and the Bears dominated.

"We saw Lucas and George standing," Blevins said. “We heard something, but we weren't sure what happened, so we ran with our heads down. Tanjung Absa is epic, but anything can happen, especially in today's environment.

"It was very brutal out there. We had the right tires but it was very difficult to drive in those conditions. It was very muddy and very slow on the singletrack."

men's room:
1. Toyota-Specialized-Ninety One: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins - 03:26:48.9
2. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Race: Nino Schurter, Andri Frischknecht – 03:30:56.2 (+00:04:07.2)
3. Bulls Mavericks: Alban Lakata, Axel Rudil-Cortinat - 03:33:46.7 (+00:06:57.7)

CM.com Woman Categories:
1. Efficient Unlimited Insurance: Kim Le Court, Vera Luzer - 04:30:02.9
2. Ninety One Songs - Professional: Sofia Gómez Villafan, Caterina Nash - 04:43:00.7 (+00:12:57.8)
3. Cannondale Arabay Vase: Hail Steinberg, Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez - 04:46:00.2 (+00:15:57.3)

men's room:
1. SCOTT-SRAM MTB-RACING: Nino Schurter, Andriy Frischknecht - 23:07:54.8
2. Toyota-Specialized-Ninety One: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins - 23:09:27.2 (+00:01:32.4)
3. Orbea X Leat X Speed ​​​​Company Racing: Georg Egger, Lukas Baum - 23:13:27.0 (+00:05:32.2)

CM.com Woman Categories:
1. Infiniti Efficient Insurance: Kim Le Court, Vera Luzer - 29:08:28.7
2. Electronic fortress. clean | Seattle Cofic: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lyle - 29:33:41.4 (+00:25:12.7)
3. Ninety-one singers: Sofia Gomez Villafan, Katrina Nash - 29:35:48.7 (+00:27:20.0)

Full Highlights Level 2 | 2022 Absa Cape Epic